BEAUTY AND THE BEASTTTTT

My all time favorite Disney movie. My retelling obsession. My heart beats for Beauty and the Beast.

But what happened AFTER Belle and the Beast fell in love?

Most retellings focus on re-doing the during, so it was interesting to skip all that, after all, we know what happened.
What we don’t know from the original tale is if Belle took the title of princess, how the Beast (here known as Lio) adjusts to life as a human again, and how the world itself changes.

Rebel Rose takes the live-action route and has the world forget about the Prince while he was the beast, and now reemerges after recovering from his “illness”.

Lio now faces a world that he doesn’t necessarily belong in, suffers from terrible nightmares, and must deal with the consequences of marrying a commoner.

So, instead of staying in the castle and getting to know my favorite characters more, he brings his cousin Bastien home with him from Paris and then peaces out for a journey to the kingdom’s nobles.

And this is where it stopped being a Beauty and The Beast retelling for me. There were occasional references to Mrs. Potts cooking, Lumieré chasing after women, Cogsworth being strict and in charge, and of course the library.

But honestly? If it wasn’t for the occasional name drops I would have forgotten this was a retelling. There is so little interaction between Belle and Lio. I wanted so much more of Belle and the Beast and their love story.

Instead, we get the tale of Belle and Bastien. Right away its obvious that Bastien is no good. It is however, difficult to determine if he is the bad guy in terms of trying to destroy the kingdom, or if he just despises Belle to that extent.

The basis of this story ended up being Belle, and her split between Belle the peasant and Belle the noblewoman, if she actually fit into either world. I enjoyed Belle’s struggle to find herself. Making new friends, forgiving old enemies, and finding the balance between the poor girl who longed for adventure, and the would-be Queen who must stay in one place. The internal balance was so well written, and you could truly sense the struggle she dealt with everyday.

I did like the way real history was incorporated into this magical fictional kingdom. Real life events influence the situations Belle is put into throughout the novel.

I wasn’t the biggest fan of the “big twist” in the story, partially because it was rather obvious, and also because a lot of plot unfolded rather quickly. There were a lot of unanswered questions, and by the time Lio came back into the picture I wasn’t too excited about his presence.

Overall, as a Beauty and The Beast retelling, I wouldn’t rank this story as high. But as a political, historical fiction fantasy novel I truly enjoyed this book.

Rebel Rose takes place a few months after the curse is broken by the Beast and Belle. Belle does not want to take any titles and must find her way with the Prince. The Prince-Lio, and Belle go to Paris to meet with his cousin Bastien. Revolution is occurring in Paris. Will it escape into their kingdom?
I really liked the imagined world of what life would be like for Belle and Lio after the curse is broken. There is a lot of political intrigue in this novel. I guessed who the villain was very short in the story though.

This modern tale of Belle and her Beast was nice. It is not a retelling as it is not the same story but the next chapter in Belle and the Beast's story. This book takes place after Belle breaks the curse and the Beast turns human again. Belle and Beast just want to live their lives together but they can't due to a rebellion.

What I liked about this book:

The characters. Everyone was pretty much featured in this book. Only they were not candlesticks, teapots, tea cups, or other objects. They were human people. There was no change in their personalities. So it was easy to relate to them.

What I didn't like about this book:

Lack of action. There was a lot of talk going on but not a lot of action. Not sure if this is because it is the first book in this series or due to the targeted audience. It made for the reading to go at a very slow pace. The story did pick up towards the end but it was kind of a little too late.

Yet, I do appreciate the imagination of this story.

I absolutely adored this book! I loved that it was historically accurate. I loved the characters. The setting. Everything! Reading this book felt like coming home, and it kind of was since we got to see what happens to Belle and the Beast (Lio) after the curse is broken. One thing I loved about this book is the story of the enchantress.

We don't know much about her in the original movie except that she asked for aid, the Beast denied it, and as his punishment she cursed his kingdom. I love how Emma takes that story and builds on it. We see that perception can often give different meanings to the sale tale, and it changed the whole dynamic of this story! Plus, with the original characters like Cogsworth, Chip, Lumiere, and Mrs. Potts there to cheer up Belle, it made me so happy. The entire time I read this book I was absolutely infatuated with everything going on and had the biggest smile on my face.

I loved where this story went and how it ended and I hope to read more from this author soon!

Belle has always been one of my favorite Disney princess. From our love of reading, to our ferocity and independence, I have always seen myself in Belle. So getting approved for this book and reading what happened to Belle and the Beast after the curse is broken was heavenly. And to top it off, it's set during the French Revolution and historically accurate? I already knew this was going to be a winner for me.

The story itself was amazing. The Disney characters, like Lumiere, Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts all kept their original tone and personality. It felt like someone had taken the ended script, the part after the wedding, and printed it in a book. Belle had that independence, her wits, and her kindness while Lio was not only kind, but had that same sense of humor and slight temper. Emma does an amazing job replicating the same personalities as the movie characters making the transition so smooth.

I absolutely loved this book and loved the historical aspects included. To see how Belle and Lio (The Beast) handle the French Revolution, as royals themselves, was so interesting. I found myself unable to stop reading as I wanted to experience more of this book. By the end I was almost in tears. This book captured my love for Beauty and the Beast and fostered it on the page. Thank you for letting me experience more of this world! I adored it.

Fantastic retelling of Beauty and the Beast's life after the fairy tale. Belle is by far my favorite Disney story so I was very excited to see this sequel and the book cover is exquisite; stunning introduction to this fabulous story. A blend of fantasy fairy tale with the historical backdrop of the French Revolution. An intriguing look into the marriage of Belle and Prince Lio (formerly known as the Beast) Plenty of complexity and rich character development. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to review this ARC. My opinions are my own and unbiased .

The hardest thing about writing a sequel to such a classic and iconic story is that it almost never lives up to the expectations. There’s always something that is a little off that makes the story fall short of the mark. It’s like when Disney makes sequels to their films years or even decades later and there’s just something about them that isn’t “as good.”

That was what happened with Rebel Rose. The concept is fantastic. Merging the iconic Disney characters with the historical context of the story is like a dream come true for someone like me. I remember watching the live-action Beauty and the Beast adaptation and seeing posts online discussing that after the events of the film, Belle and the Beast would have to deal with the French Revolution. So to see those ideas come together is cool.

But the execution of the idea didn’t pull through for me.

For one, the story is slow. It’s a lot of politics. A lot of talking. Which can work as a story but for a YA sequel retelling of a beloved story, I’m not sure how interesting it will be for the target audience.

In addition, the title ‘Rebel Rose’ made me think that Belle would be much more involved in the revolution. That she would become a rebel herself in some way to bring voice to the people of France or her kingdom and that never happened.

Which leads me to the bigger problem with the story for me: the characters. None of the iconic, well known characters came across as themselves. Belle was not the stubborn, independent, outspoken girl from the movie. Lio, aka the Beast, had absolutely no personality in this, which I had been looking forward to learning more about. Lumiere was reduced to someone who liked food. Cogsworth to someone who gets angry. Mrs. Potts to a cook.

Even the "villain" character was boring because his entire presence was predictable. I expected a bigger twist with him and had been hoping there was more going on than what was presented. But alas, that was not what happened.

If this had just been a story about a girl dealing with a kingdom on the brink of revolution, with absolutely no ties to the Disney film, this book could have worked. But instead, mashing the two together made the story fall short.

The Queen's Council Rebel Rose
by Emma Theriault
Disney Publishing Worldwide
You Like Them
Disney-Hyperion
Teens & YA
Pub Date 10 Nov 2020 | Archive Date 10 Nov 2020

I had been looking forward to this retelling of Beauty and the Beast. It tells the story after the curse is broken.
I think our YA readers will enjoy it. Thanks to Disney and NetGalley for the ARC.

4 star

I cannot get enough of this book!!!! This book captured me at Belle! Beauty and the Beast has always been my favorite and a I’m always excited for a retelling, or in this case, a continuation! This book is amazing!!!! I love the take on it and really enjoyed the backdrop of the French Revolution. I can’t wait to share this book with students!!! 4.5/5

Overall, a solid fairytale history, but the Beast makes this need a second glance.

Pros:
The twist on history through the eyes of Belle. How often has that been a topic of conversation or art? Well this book does a solid job of describing how Belle would react to it.
Fairytale aspects woven in. There were ways this could have just been a historical fiction just staring Belle; however, the author chose to focus on the elements of her story that caused readers to fall for her and want to pick this up in the first place weaving them in at just the right moments.

Cons:
This is not as much of action-driven plot as the plot-synopsis leads you to believe it would be.
The Beast. Okay, we all knew he was either going to be a pro or a con. In this retelling right? Unfortunately, we did not spend enough time exploring the chance to make him grow as a human before the plot of this work started to unfold.

I was so excited when I originally heard about Rebel Rose because it has a stellar concept centering around what happens to Belle after she breaks the curse and weds the prince… especially since this is around the time of the French Revolution. I was interested to see what sort of tale debut author Emma Theriault would come up with, so it makes me sad to have to report that this novel fell short of my expectations. The potential for a tale I would love (complete with court intrigue, a dash of magic, nods to the original source material and the Disney film, and a French setting) were all there. But, in the end, it was the character execution where this tale faltered. I wanted so badly to care about Belle (and the rest of her newly constructed family), but I didn’t really feel too deeply for the plight they found themselves in. In tandem with a less plot-driven story and a series of events I found pretty predictable, this unfortunately made Rebel Rose fall flat for me in the end.

I've been waiting for Rebel Rose since it was announced in October 2019 and I can still hardly believe that it really exists. I would remember joking to friends about the historical context of Disney fantasy films, especially as many of them were inspired by real history or real places. Beauty and the Beast was often chief among them -- and little did I ever imagine there would be a book blending real French history and the Disney film.

Rebel Rose is a sequel to the film Beauty and the Beast, set during the French Revolution. And I have to say: the Revolution isn't just a background setting. Author Emma Theriault engages with the French Revolution as a living and breathing setting of the film, mentioning key historical movers and shakers and sweeping our protagonists along real events. Belle and the now-human Beast (referred to throughout by his nickname Lio) live in a principality with close political ties to France, and their land is a part of everything going on in Europe in 1789.

The story isn't just about historical events though, but Belle as a character and her relationship to her new spouse, Prince Lio. It's about navigating a new marriage, differences in status, thorny political issues, and family. There's a lot of ground covered in the novel.

I enjoyed it a lot -- and am excited to think that it's just the first in a whole series of Queen's Council books blending real history and the concept of Disney heroines as political leaders.

Short and Sweet Review
In 1789 France is on the brink of a revolution. Belle and Lio have recently gotten married and are trying to realign themselves into society. After learning about everything going on in France Belle and Lio agree that they have to put their people first to prevent a revolution taking place in Aveyon.
Lio enlists the help of his cousin Bastien, who has been living in France and has more information on customs and laws that Lio would have missed out on while he was under the curse for the past ten years. Bastien is one of those people who seems like they’re helpful but they’re actually up to no good. Because he’s Lio’s cousin Lio tends to take his side but Belle can see that Bastien doesn’t have the best intentions. While trying to go about how to make Aveyon a better place Bastien suggests that they focus on noblemen while Belle wants to focus on commoners, this leads to tension between the two.
Lio ends up going to visit noblemen around the town and he ends up being gone for a while. Belle is still at the castle and though she doesn’t want to be called a princess or queen she still has the authority to make decisions. Most of the decisions she makes are shot down by the advisors, but sometimes the advisors agree because Bastien agrees first. Belle also stumbles upon a magic mirror which gives her warnings about what’s to come, one of them being a revolution is closer than she thought. While Lio is gone its almost like she has no friends which is why I’m glad when Marguerite comes to Aveyon. Marguerite is someone that Belle met at one of Bastien’s parties in France. Marguerite is someone Belle can confide in and is also very helpful in organizing the library and setting up a salon.
I did like the relationship between Belle and Lio, they have a closer bond then most people think, because of what they had to go through when the curse was still intact. Lio sometimes still has nightmares about the curse and it seems like Belle is the only one who can soothe him.
I loved how this was a retelling but also included actual history as well! We also get to see some familiar characters from Beauty and the Beast. Belle is everything you want in a heroine, someone who cares about people, someone who wants to do the right thing, and someone who trusts their gut. I’m so happy that I got to read this book and I’m excited to see what the next book in the series has in store! Definitely check this book out if you like retellings but with some history sprinkled in!

What happens after happily ever after? This book follows Belle an Lio after the curse has been broken and they have to go back to living in the real world. With France on the verge of a revolution Belle and Lio are faced with trying to figure out how the can best protect their kingdom and their people. While Lio is forced to go out on a tour of his kingdom after succeeding from France and becoming King of his kingdom, Belle is left to rule in his stead. While she doesn't want to be queen, Belle does want to make sure that all voices in their kingdom are heard not just those who are royal. This book does a stunning job of interweaving history with fiction. Having studied the French revolution, I think that it is interesting to see how someone who was in a position of power but had lived the life of a commoner may have looked at the Revolution through different eyes. How their background and empathy may have been able to steam the distrust and frustrations of the common people. Emma Theriault does an amazing job of keeping true to the Disney characters we all know and love while still making them more human by placing them in real world events. I highly recommend this book!

Thank you Netgalley and Disney Publishing for advance copy.

Rebel Rose is the first book in Disney-Hyperion’s Queen’s Council series. This YA historical fantasy series reimagines Disney Princesses as rulers coming into power, aided by a mysterious force that weaves between their individual stories. Each story will be written by a different author.

In fact, it’s the historical aspects that really bring Rebel Rose to life. There are nods throughout the novel to the Disney tale (more to the live-action than animated version) that give readers a sense that the stories are linked, but Rebel Rose is so much more vibrant. Here, you get to see the world off-screen. You begin to understand why people act the way they do. The world doesn’t end at the border of Aveyon. More than once during my reading, I found myself wishing Belle’s original story could get the same treatment.

While the historical moments really make the book, Belle’s evolution (or lack thereof) is less exciting. Belle doesn’t want to change, and because of that, she makes so great and not so great decisions. While I was rooting for her, I also found myself missing the spunk she showed in the movies.

While enjoyable, Rebel Rose could be better. Integrating it into what came before isn’t without hiccups — again, this is where a prequel would be helpful. Most of the magical elements people love are sort of brushed aside with a stark before and after.

Despite my issues, I became fully immersed in Rebel Rose. I have high hopes for the Queen’s Council series, and I look forward to reading more Disney stories set in history.

This YA work of fiction is a fairytale retelling about Belle and the Beast, however it is not the story we all grew up with. No, this book is about what happened after Belle broke the curse. Obviously we all know they got married but happily ever after did not last very long. It may come as a shock to many of you but our beloved bookworm and her handsome beast were living during the French Revolution. So in this book we follow the young newlyweds on their honeymoon tour of France. They are so happy to be free of the castle and content in their new love but upon reaching Paris they find the city in turmoil.

They are there not just on honeymoon but to reunite Lio (the Beast) and his favorite cousin as well as to meet King Louis and Marie Antoinette. However having refused to take the title of Princess Belle is not obligated to meet her King and she feels no need to. So instead Belle takes to wandering the city in hope of visiting some of the places her father took her as a child and finding a quiet spot to read. But before she has wandered very far she finds people begging in the streets and sick and starving children digging in the refuse for scraps. Of course being the kind young woman she is she gives away what little money she has on her person and promises to help if she can. On her way back to the Duke’s house (Lio’s cousin) a pamphlet is thrust into her hands and it speaks of a growing revolution, one that the Duke shrugged off as nothing. Soon after their arrival things in Paris reach violence and the newlyweds and Duke flee to Aeyvon where they pray the revolution has not reached.

I really enjoyed this fairytale sequel with a historical fiction twist, it was full of betrayal, historical accuracies, love, romance and of course several chapters in Belle’s library. In this book Belle is once again the main character but here she is more stubborn than ever, wittier, well studied in politics, brave and fierce. She wants only the best for everyone in her kingdom and fights to ensure they receive equality. Emma Theriault made Belle everything we always wanted her to be as well as the kind of person we should all strive to be. Theriault wrote Belle to be the definition of a great queen. If you enjoy fairytale retellings, historical fiction, and books published by Disney this is definitely a book you’ll want to pick up.

Rebel Rose has been one of my most anticipated reads of this year. I loved the idea of a continuation of Beauty and The Beast that focused on what would happen once the fairytale was over and in many ways this was definitely what I was hoping for, but it also wasn't.

If you're going into this book expecting a lot of romance between Lio (The Beast) and Belle, you might be a little disappointed. The romance is overtly present throughout the entire book to be sure, but their moments together are somewhat fleeting. Still, when they are together it is absolutely lovely and left me always wanting more.

Now - Belle is obviously the star of the show in this book. She's still searching for an adventure off in the great wide somewhere, the only difference is that now she's not alone. She has Lio, of course, and a few others.

There's also a revolution happening in France and at the end of the day, Belle is determined to make sure that Lio's people (and hers by default) are not in the same mindset. There were times when I was frustrated with how much Belle was lying to Lio because it didn't feel like something she would do, but in the end she was just as headstrong as always.

There was definitely something sentimental to seeing Mrs. Potts and Lumiere and Cogworths running about throughout the story that warmed my heart. I also found several of Theriault's main characters to be absolutely captivating, if not frustrating in their own right.

Overall, there were a few parts that I found a little slow going (or moving a bit too quickly) , but overall I absolutely enjoyed what I did get to read. Sadly the book expired on my app before I could finish the last few pages, but overall that just makes me more interested in buying the physically book.

I am a huge fan of anything Beauty and the Beast related, however I feel like this book threw a wrench in my love for the story. I actually did enjoy this book enough to give it 4 stars, as it kept my attention and I enjoyed the familiar characters. What I didn't enjoy is that Belle didn't seem like her regular self, especially at the beginning of the book. We still see that Belle is a simple girl and doesn't want added responsibility and just wants to be Lio's wife, however she is so unsure about so many aspects of the book and constantly relies on others to make the decisions for her.

I was so excited to read a book that was basically a sequel to Beauty and the Beast, which that Disney movie is one of my all time favorites. This book basically tells what happens after the curse, and how Belle is doing and the "beast". I loved how this was obviously a work a fiction, but had a huge part of historical fiction as well.

I really enjoyed this book and flew through the pages as fast as I could. I actually really liked how this was more character driven and we get to really see how Belle is coping with being with a prince. She has always been a commoner and now it is like her life has been flipped upside down. I always enjoy when the side characters mean just as much as the main character. You can tell Theriault spent a lot of time fleshing out all of the characters and making them all important, and making them all a character that you end up holding in your heart.

The only dislike I had was that it felt a little too predictable and at times felt childish. Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed it, but it didn't feel like I was reading a YA book at times. Really though that is my only complaint. I loved the mix of historical fiction and fantasy, I loved the characters and the world, and I loved the point of this book.

I'm very sad to say that this is a book that I didn't finish reading. I quite enjoyed the first third or so, because Beauty and the Beast is my favourite disney film and I also loved the historical details that were included about the French revolution. However, I do wish that the plot would have had a bit more momentum. I felt like it was dragging in the middle especially and while there was some mystery elements and court intruige, I couldn't get truly hooked into the story. A little over halfway I found myself feeling uninterested in the stakes and I couldn't bring myself to keep reading. Thank you so much for the chance to read and I'm very sad I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would.